Apple's Back to School 2015 promo offers $200 Beats Solo2 headphones with purchase of new Mac

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited August 2015
Apple on Thursday launched its awaited Back to School 2015 promotion, offering a free pair of Beats Solo2 wired headphones, valued at $200, with the purchase of a new Mac.




Customers can also pay $100 to upgrade to a pair of Beats Solo2 Wireless Headphones, which retail for $300. The deal was announced on Apple's "Current Rebates" page on Thursday.

The deal has begun in Apple's retail stores and authorized campus stores, but it won't start in the online store or via 1-800-MY-APPLE until Aug. 6. The promotion ends in all locations on Sept. 18.

As it is a "Back to School" promotion, the deal requires a new Mac purchase by a student or faculty member with education pricing. The 2015 deal is a change from recent years, when Apple offered $100 gift cards with Mac purchases, and $50 with an iPhone or iPad.

Shoppers --?both students and otherwise -- looking to save more money on the purchase of a new Mac can view the AppleInsider Price Guide, which features a number of exclusive discounts on MacBook Pros, the new 12-inch MacBook with Retina display, and more. Deals include up to $200 off the purchase of the latest-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch trackpad.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 69
    felix01felix01 Posts: 294member

    A lot of things Apple-related I'd rather have as part of the Back-to-School promo than Beats headphones! Apple is doing everything humanly possible to try to justify that questionable acquisition. 

  • Reply 2 of 69
    I predicted this! I am a genius! :lol:
  • Reply 3 of 69
    So a pair of mediocre headphones...
  • Reply 4 of 69
    ceek74ceek74 Posts: 324member

    Oh, the $14 headphones?  Sweeeeet!

  • Reply 5 of 69
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Can't I just choose a $10 iTunes gift card instead? Better than a crappy pair of headphones.
  • Reply 6 of 69
    I predicted this! I am a genius! :lol:

    LOL. Ok then. Who will come out ahead in the playoffs? Clippers or Spurs? :)
  • Reply 7 of 69
    So a pair of mediocre headphones...

    Here we go. Expect a long rant from Relic about headphone amps and oxygen-free cords, and snooty euro-brand headphones covered in polished wood accents and old world charm. ;)
  • Reply 8 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post





    Here we go. Expect a long rant from Relic about headphone amps and oxygen-free cords, and snooty euro-brand headphones covered in polished wood accents and old world charm. image



    My response is usually these: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRV6-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00001WRSJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437662173&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+mdr-v6

     

    Though their close cousin, the 7506, is on sale for $80. (Prices go back and forth between the two) The V6's have been untouched for thirty years and yet they still hold up today. Meanwhile people are shelling out $200 for Beats, which Apple has done nothing to improve, instead using them as a cash cow. Not seeing $100 worth of cool in Beats. <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />

  • Reply 9 of 69
    felix01 wrote: »
    A lot of things Apple-related I'd rather have as part of the Back-to-School promo than Beats headphones! Apple is doing everything humanly possible to try to justify that questionable acquisition. 

    Apple Music and Beats One is Apple justifying that acquisition. Your theory is ludicrous.
  • Reply 10 of 69
    bkerkaybkerkay Posts: 139member

    I personally don't really care for the promo.  And there are many people already saying how lame the promotion is this year. 

     

    However, most of us are not the demographic.  Students are... most of them are kids.  Beats is a fashion thing, they will like it.  They will listen to music, via their Mac, iPod or iPhone on headphones.  This will work for them. 

     

    And if you are older and a student/teacher or even a teenager and is not interested in the free headphones, take it anyway and sell it. You just made some $$ with no effort and/or cost to you. 

  • Reply 11 of 69
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Hmm...if I had a choice between free Beats headphones or $200 off a new rMB I'd chose the latter. But I'm sure Apple wants Beats headphones seen all over college campuses.
  • Reply 12 of 69
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    Imo students want a rebate a lot more than a pair of headphones... Thats a pretty bad deal.
  • Reply 13 of 69
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    The current generation of Beats headphones is actually pretty good. Anyone harboring an opinion of these based on previous Beats headphones would do well to check out the current crop; especially the Solo2 models.

    Whether they're worth the coin, or whether a pair of Solo2s is a deal compared to past Back-to-School promotions, I'll leave that for you guys to argue... ;-)
  • Reply 14 of 69
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,080member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     

    Though their close cousin, the 7506, is on sale for $80.


     

    I own these.  Great sound, flatter response than I was expecting at this price point.  Folks shopping for Beats-style headsets might fault their visual aesthetics, but I could care less.  I love 'em.

  • Reply 15 of 69
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by herbapou View Post



    Imo students want a rebate a lot more than a pair of headphones... Thats a pretty bad deal.



    Absolutely not. Students parents want the rebates more than a pair of headphones. Students rather have the headphones.

  • Reply 16 of 69
    Apple Music and Beats One is Apple justifying that acquisition. Your theory is ludicrous.
    BeatsOne maybe.

    AppleMusic not so much it seems: http://www.loopinsight.com/2015/07/22/apple-music-is-a-nightmare-and-im-done-with-it/
  • Reply 17 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PScooter63 View Post

     

     

    I own these.  Great sound, flatter response than I was expecting at this price point.  Folks shopping for Beats-style headsets might fault their visual aesthetics, but I could care less.  I love 'em.




    They're a testament to how good Sony's engineers were back in the day.

  • Reply 18 of 69
    konqerror wrote: »

    Absolutely not. Students parents want the rebates more than a pair of headphones. Students rather have the headphones.
    Not necessarily. There are PLENTY of students who'd rather have a rebate than headphones
  • Reply 19 of 69
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by konqerror View Post

     



    Absolutely not. Students parents want the rebates more than a pair of headphones. Students rather have the headphones.


    Concur. And is it just me, or is this offering on a "back to school" tagline somehow deeply ironic?

  • Reply 20 of 69

    My response is usually these: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRV6-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00001WRSJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437662173&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+mdr-v6

    Though their close cousin, the 7506, is on sale for $80. (Prices go back and forth between the two) The V6's have been untouched for thirty years and yet they still hold up today. Meanwhile people are shelling out $200 for Beats, which Apple has done nothing to improve, instead using them as a cash cow. Not seeing $100 worth of cool in Beats. :lol:

    You're preaching to the choir, dude. I own two V6s and I've already replaced the ear pads on my first pair. I use it when I want a flat response, and tweak it in the EQ of my amp. And no I don't own Beats nor plan to. I'm not the intended audience of Apple's back-to-school sale. I'm old school audiophile like Relic--with whom I only jest. The problem is, so many of us can't see past our own tastes. We project what we value onto Apple and declare all kinds of silly things like, "Apple is desperately trying to justify the beats acquisition." Um, no. Stupid much? Beats sell, period. Not to audiophiles, but millennials, bassheads and urban-fashion-conscious fans. They buy it because the brand makes a statement about who they are. And they're not you or I.
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